


better together (it brings new things)

by radiantbeams



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, American AU, Birthday Party, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Jock Liam, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Louis, Smart Louis, bc this is mostly based off of my college experience... which is in america, he plays tennis, he studies engineering, liam pines too but we dont know that until the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-15 18:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13619655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiantbeams/pseuds/radiantbeams
Summary: He should just tell him what they’re doing. Niall probably hates surprises anyway. “What’s going on, guys? Why do you keep excluding me?” Oh god, Louis’s heart is breaking.Just as he opens his mouth to tell him everything, Liam speaks up.“Louis and I are dating.”WHAT?~*~OR Louis and Liam are planning Niall's surprise party, and things get a little out of hand.Featuring Harry, the really fucking weird best friend, Shawn, the he's-definitely-not-my-boyfriend-he-probably-doesn't-even-like-me-like-that-louis-god-chill best friend and a lot of confetti that has no business being in Louis's apartment.





	better together (it brings new things)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [Amanda](https://hazah.tumblr.com/) and [Michelle](https://haroldtea.tumblr.com/) for letting me annoy them at all hours of the night to read and re-read every fucking scene.
> 
> And thank you to [Bee](https://fierycolored.tumblr.com/) for helping me merge all my crazy ideas together into this, and also for being a voice of reason when I spend way too long researching stupid continuity stuff.
> 
> Writing this was so much fun! Make sure to pay attention to the dates/progression of time because that becomes important at the end. (also it took me forever to get all the dates to correspond with the correct days of the week and y'all should appreciate my hard work) It's set in a fictional year where September 13th falls on a Saturday, just roll with it.
> 
> Title from 'Better Together' by Jack Johnson

#####  **Saturday, August 10 ~ 5 weeks until**

 

Louis has a plan, a plan that requires finally dragging his ass out of the library and actually attending one of Niall’s golf games (tournaments? He has no idea what they’re called). He goes to these things occasionally, very occasionally. He sees enough of Niall at home, he doesn’t need to see him out here in the real world too. That’s a lie, he loves Niall. Niall is his best mate. But it’s 8:30 in the morning on a Saturday. And he’s about to walk up to a complete stranger that he _hopes_ is Liam Payne, Niall’s other best mate, so he can have some help throwing Niall a surprise party. He’s doing Niall a _favor_ and Niall didn’t even leave any coffee in the pot this morning after he left. Niall doesn’t exactly know Louis is doing him a favor, but… Semantics.

 

“Hey, are you Liam? Liam Payne?” Louis asks, walking up to the guy who definitely was Liam, if Niall’s instagram was any indication of what he looked like. Didn’t do those broad shoulders justice, though.

 

“Um, yeah?” Liam looks up from where he was stood on the sidelines, a little sceptical.

 

“Weird we haven’t met before now, mate. I’m Louis,” he says, shaking hands and sidling up next to him.

 

Liam lights up in recognition, turning toward him enthusiastically. “Oh! Louis, yeah, Niall’s roommate?” Louis nods in affirmation. “It _is_ super weird that we haven’t met. But I’m sure you’re busy with like… What is it that you study? Niall told me once but all I remembered is that it was long and complicated sounding,” he laughs.

 

“Finite element analysis and mechatronics.” He says, smiling at Liam’s predictably confused expression. “I’m an engineer, I build computers and robots and stuff. You’re same as Niall, right? Exercise science?” He asks. He really hates the typical uni small talk but there’s only so much he could glean off Liam’s facebook page when he browsed it last night.

 

“Yeah, and I’m on the tennis team. They made me captain this year.”

 

The _I know_ gets caught in Louis’s throat. It is _not_ weird that Louis was up until 1am stalking Liam on social media. He has a very specific plan and it required him not walking up to the wrong ‘big guy with a buzz cut’ as Niall so helpfully supplied when Louis asked for a description. Speaking of, golf games are quiet, too quiet for Louis to share his super secret surprise party plans with Liam without Niall overhearing.

 

For someone with such acclaimed athletic ability (they probably don’t hand out team captain to just anyone) Liam manages to almost trip into a sand trap twice, and almost step backwards into a water hazard. ‘Almost’ being the operative word, he guesses. Liam’s been talking with Louis with a weird intense fascination that he would be put off by it if he weren’t already friends with Harry. ‘Intense’ is a character trait Harry had in spades.

 

Once the round is over, which took forever (Louis being insanely busy with school isn’t the _only_ reason he never makes it to these things) Niall comes over to say hello. Louis isn’t sure if he won or not. He’s not quite sure how golf actually works, come to think of it. Niall goes back to the clubhouse to shower and change so Louis makes his move, interrupting Liam as he’s heads down in his phone.

 

“Hey, so I wanted to chat.” Which sounds very ominous, even from his perspective.

 

“Okay…” Liam sounds skeptical again.

 

“Nothing weird! Just, Niall’s birthday is coming up, and, I know you and him are close friends. I thought--”

 

“Oh my god! We could throw him a surprise party! Yes! That sounds like so much fun.” Liam interrupts, sounding _very_ excited. It’s kind of contagious.

 

“Yeah! That’s exactly what I was thinking. Great, let’s exchange numbers. You can come over sometime when Niall’s not around and we can plan.” He says, already pulling out his phone.

 

“Lads! What’s the craic?” Niall yells, putting on the exaggerated irish accent he usually only gets after coming back from holidays with his folks. He grins, swinging his arm across Louis’s shoulders. His damp hair drips onto the collar of Louis’s t-shirt.

 

Liam hands his phone over with a wink. Louis grins back at him conspiratorially. Niall looks between them, a little bewildered. That could just be his face, though.

 

“Pints?” Louis asks, stepping out from under his arm and towards downtown.

 

“You sure you can swing it, Tommo?” Niall asks, the moment of confusion passed. “Or do you have more ‘homework’ to do?” He uses little air quotes, rolling his eyes.

 

“Always, Ni. Always. But it can wait. You’re infinitely more important,” he gives him an exaggerated kiss on the cheek.

 

“Guys? You coming?” Liam calls from where he’s walking backwards down the street.

 

#####  **Saturday, August 17 ~ 4 weeks until**

 

Liam likes to text. _All. The. Time._ To the point that he’s had to keep his phone on silent even when he’s at home, because Niall keeps asking when he got so popular. Niall can go fuck himself, Louis has always been popular. Liam, it seems, has not always been popular. Because Liam is really _really_ weird. Louis doesn’t really know anyone who’s this fucking dorky over text and was also popular in high school. Last Tuesday night he texted Louis for a full hour and a half about a squirrel he saw outside his apartment. Mostly about how he hoped the squirrel had a family to go home to, and then a long thing about how he didn’t know if squirrels had homes at all. _Don’t they live in trees? They must have a nest or something somewhere? Do they live in a hole, like bunnies?_ Louis was sure a quick google search would have answered all those questions. But it was cute, so he talked about squirrels for an hour and a half. Liam is really fun to talk about comics with, and they’ve already got a whole list of superhero movies they have to watch together, so they can make sure they catch all the easter eggs. They have so many common interests it’s weird that they haven’t met before now. But with 19 hour semesters and two part time jobs, Louis really hasn’t had much time for a social life. It’s his senior year though, so now he’s cut back. Reasonable hours, quit one of the jobs, and made himself the goal to actually _enjoy_ university before it’s too late.

 

It still takes Louis and Liam _ages_ to find a time they can meet. Louis had a robotics seminar, then a paper on fluid dynamics, _then_ his sister’s birthday. Not to mention Liam’s been gone every weekend with his team. It’s the first real day off Louis has had in ages, so he’s still in his pajamas when he answers the door.

 

“Oh, um, do I have the right day?” Liam asks, clicking open his phone to check the time.

 

Louis had apparently forgotten how incredibly _gorgeous_ Liam is. He’s such a weirdo over text Louis kind of thought he had exaggerated the whole broad-shoulders-chiseled-jaw thing from the first time they had met in person. People who have conspiracy theories about _Toy Story_ shouldn’t be this beautiful.

 

“Nah mate, you’re good. Just lazing about for the day,” he recovers quick enough, from the staring and the jaw dropping when he first opened the door. Hardly even noticeable.

 

He steps back to allow Liam to enter, and definitely catches how his face screws up in disgust for a half a second as he takes in their complete _disaster_ of a flat. He’s neutral though, when Louis turns back around from picking up a hoodie from the pile of coats by the door, smelling it, and pulling it over his head.

 

“Make yourself at home,” he gestures to the living room. “Shove over any textbooks and whatever, to make room on the couch. I’m just gonna make some coffee.”

 

“Right.” He’s looking at their beat up old futon like it would give him a disease. It might.

 

Getting stuff done with Liam is nothing like getting stuff done with his classmates. Liam is organized and enthusiastic and prepared. Louis is more used to sleep deprived, jittery, and overwhelmed. It’s a nice change. He should get Liam to switch majors. They’ve only just started the semester, he’d have time.

 

“Louis?” Liam calls, a small smile on his face. He’s probably been saying his name for a while. Louis zones out a lot.

 

“Huh? What? Yeah,” he says, shaking out of his reverie where he was definitely not mindlessly admiring Liam’s biceps in that t-shirt.

 

“Cheesecake? Or cupcakes?” He asks, flipping between two bakeries on his computer.

 

“Oh, uh… Depends on how many people we invite. Do you really think the whole team will show up?” He laughs.

 

“I should think so, Niall’s their favo--” He’s cut off by the sound of keys jingling in the lock outside.

  
Louis dramatically lunges across Liam’s lap to slam his laptop shut, always one for theatrics. But it leaves him in a very precarious position. He’s struggling to roll away (and still avoid falling to onto the floor) when Niall walks in, heads down sorting through their mail. He stops dead in his tracks when he looks up, though. Liam’s got his arms around Louis’s middle and they’re both trying not to laugh.

 

“Oh, hey, Liam...” Niall says. “Didn’t think-- Didn’t expect to see you here.”

 

“I invited him,” Louis says, finally untangling himself off Liam’s lap. He leaves an arm across Liam’s shoulders though and tries very hard to play it cool. Both because he’s keeping a secret from Niall and he’s always been a terrible liar and also because Liam is very attractive and warm and-- Louis needs to get it together.

 

“Just thought I’d come hang out,” Liam says casually. “I’ve been so busy with the team this semester, and I just couldn’t pass up Lou’s offer of lazing about for a whole afternoon.” Liam flexes his fingers-- and oh right, he’s still got his arm around Louis’s waist. Nice, cool. It’s fine.

 

“How was.. Where were you?” Louis asks, a little frantic as he springs up from the couch away from Liam’s hands and his-- him.

 

“Just over at Shawn’s, we were working on a project for o-chem. Shouldn’t you be working on that too, Li?” Niall asks, placing-slash-flinging his backpack into his bedroom.

 

“I guess so.” He shrugs, the picture of calm as Louis tries to figure out what to do with his hands. Why is he standing in the middle of the living room? Would it be weird to sit back down again? “But I’ll just do it later. Louis and I have been trying to hang out for weeks.” He smiles, giving Louis a cheeky wink.

 

“Oh _have_ you now?” Niall emphasizes, wagging his eyebrows from where he’s filling his water bottle up in the kitchen.

 

Liam’s smile drops off his face and he glances between them. “Um… Yeah… I should probably go.” Good, at least Louis can prove Liam can get rattled too.

 

“I’ll walk you out!” Louis says much too loudly. He’s really shit at this, isn’t he?

 

He hangs out of the doorway, whispering to Liam in the hall. “Text me, okay? We’ve still got some time to work out all the details.”

 

Liam grins at him, pulling him in for a surprise hug. “It’s gonna be great. He’s gonna love it.” He pulls back a little to shout over Louis’s shoulder. “See ya’ Niall!”

 

Louis stands at the door and waves until Liam’s all the way down the hall into the stairwell. He falls back onto the door once he gets it closed, sighing.

 

“So Liam was over…” Niall says from where he’s stretched out on the sofa.

 

Louis rolls his eyes, slumping over into the armchair by the window. “How observant.”

 

“He’s quite fit, isn’t he?” Niall asks, obviously going to nonchalance.

 

“You have a boyfriend,” Louis says flippantly. He considers going out onto the fire escape for a smoke, just to get away from him.

 

“I-- We’re not-- Shawn’s just… Shawn. That’s nothing,” Niall says, getting a little flustered. Louis smirks.

 

“Exactly. Liam’s just Liam, it’s no big deal.” He picks at his nails. “Besides, what’s your beef? Your two best friends are now mates. It’s a _good thing_.”

 

“Yeah, whatever, I just feel left out.” Louis rolls his eyes. “I do! You guys are always off spending time together, not inviting me.” Niall pouts.

 

Louis pats him on the shoulder. “This is the very first time we’ve hung out without you, Ni. Not everything’s about you.”

 

Niall flips him off.

 

#####  **Thursday, August 22 ~ 3 weeks, 2 days until**

 

He’s been sitting in the library cafe for almost 5 straight hours when a fresh cup of coffee is placed in between him and his laptop screen. He startles and looks up to see Liam grinning at him.

 

“Looked like you could use a break,” he says as he takes the seat across, stacking up Louis’s textbooks nice and neat to make room for his own paper cup.

 

“God, you have no idea. Thank you so much,” Louis gulps down as much as he can without burning the back of his throat. “What brings you to this neck of the woods? I thought all the science buildings were on the other side of campus.”

 

“Looking for you, actually.” Louis raises an eyebrow. “Don’t flatter yourself, I also had to pick up some textbooks.”

 

“We’re almost three weeks into the semester, Payne. How have you been without textbooks for this long?” Louis asks incredulously.

 

Liam shrugs, bringing his coffee to his lips and taking a sip. He’s balanced precariously on the back two feet of the cafe chair and it’s giving Louis anxiety. He takes a foot and loops it through one of the armrests to slam it back down onto all fours. Which is right when Niall walks up: with Louis’s feet in Liam’s lap.

 

“Fancy seeing you two here.” Niall says, gesturing between them. He smirks when he sees Liam tug at Louis’s pants leg.

 

“Yeah, because I _never_ spend time at the library.” Louis says dryly. Liam muffles his laughter behind his hand. Liam always laughs at his jokes, it’s great.

 

Niall rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

 

“I really don’t, Ni. Why don’t you explain it to us?” Louis asks primly.

 

“You’re such a twat. I’ll see you guys later.” He says, walking off in a huff.

 

“Well now that he’s gone, I guess we can plan some more.” Louis plops his feet back onto the ground.

 

#####  **Monday, August 26 ~ 2 weeks, 6 days until**

 

Harry almost spills the beans a few days later. Harry’s a fucking idiot, basically. All three of them, Louis, Liam, and Harry, are hanging out on the futon in Louis’s living room. The whole apartment in general is much cleaner now that Liam’s been around with kitchen gloves, a trash bag, and some sort of disinfectant spray. Niall’s in his room, but his door is still open, so Harry should know better to bring it up. Because Niall hears everything, like a fucking bat.

 

“Oh, when you guys were over the other day to use my kitchen, you left a sack of flour. One of you come by and pick it up. I’m tired of seeing it on my counter,” he says casually, taking advantage of Louis’s moment of distraction to beat him at Rainbow Road. Because _what the fuck, Harry_.

 

He shoots him a glare that says as much, with a bit more _SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU FUCKING IDIOT_. Because they were over at Harry’s place to start making all the cupcakes for the party. They thought Harry would be up for helping them, Mr. ‘I used to be a baker’. All he seemed to be good for was getting butter all over himself when they asked him to grease the tins. One job. Arguably, the easiest job. And he couldn’t do it. Harry’s a fucking idiot.

 

But Niall’s already poked his head through the door jam. “Why were you and Liam over at Harry’s place?” He wheels his desk chair out into the hallway to join them. “We have a perfectly fine kitchen here.”

 

Louis and Liam exchange a glance. _Shit_. Quick, someone think up a plausible reason. Harry actually does look a little guilty for almost ratting them out. Good. He should.

 

“Oh well, just, ya’ know…” Louis starts. He has no idea where this is gonna go. He’s truly awful at lying.

 

“We didn’t want to disturb you.” Liam says. Yes! Perfect! Niall will definitely believe that but he also definitely doesn’t look like he’s bought it. He actually looks kind of hurt.

 

“Why would you have disturbed me?” He asks in a small voice and Louis is kind of panicking. He should just tell him what they’re doing. Niall probably hates surprises anyway. “What’s going on, guys? Why do you keep excluding me?” Oh god, Louis’s heart is breaking.

 

Just as he opens his mouth to tell him everything, Liam speaks up.

 

“Louis and I are dating.”

 

_WHAT?_

 

“What?” Louis asks, getting a bit of whiplash as he turns around to gape at Liam. Harry’s eyes look like they’re about to bug out of his skull.

 

Liam ignores him. “We didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He says calmly. “Because we didn’t know how you would react. But now you know. That’s why we’ve been spending so much time together without you.” He takes Louis’s hand. “We’re sorry.”

 

 _What? The? Fuck?_ “Yeah… um… Yeah,” because Louis is entirely speechless right now and Liam is rubbing his thumb into the back of his hand and this is all so overwhelming.

 

“Harry knew before me?” Niall asks, still frowning.

 

Harry barks out a laugh, finally; he’s been seemingly stunned quiet this whole time. “No, I definitely did not,” he rasps out before dissolving into giggles again.

 

“Oh, well, then. That’s okay. Congratulations guys,” he smiles, rolling further into the living room. “I better be best man at the wedding.”

 

 _Wedding?_ There’s suddenly not enough oxygen in the room. Liam laughs good-naturedly, leaning back and picking up his controller again. He’s got an arm around Louis’s shoulders, which is cool. Fine. Totally fine.

 

The rest of the afternoon goes back to normal, except that Louis is freaking the fuck out. Internally, which is making him lose to Harry every race, which would be unacceptable, if Louis weren’t freaking the fuck out. Harry and Niall offer to go out to pick up some beer and get a pizza. So Louis takes the opportunity to figure out what the fuck is going on.

 

“Dude,” he levels, right as the door shuts behind them.

 

“What else was I supposed to say?” Liam asks, throwing up his hands.

 

Louis gets up to start pacing. “Anything! Literally anything else!” Louis needs something a lot stronger than beer.

 

“Oh because dating me would be so bad,” Liam says, a little petulant.

 

Louis runs a hand over his face. “Liam,” he sighs.

 

“I’m kidding,” he’s smiling when Louis opens his eyes. “But really, what else should I have said? He thought we were dating anyway, since the first time I came over.” Which was true, but pretending to date Liam was definitely going to test Louis’s limits. And sanity. The limits of his sanity.

 

“Fine. Fine! Because we can’t exactly back out of this mess now. But you’re going to do the heavy lifting in this relationship,” he slumps back next to him on the couch.

 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He grins, tucking Louis back into his side for when Niall and Harry get back.

 

Louis was so fucked.

 

#####  **Saturday, August 30th ~ 1 week, 5 days until**

 

Louis will admit, he doesn’t know that much about a great number of sports (other than soccer, but that’s only because he used to play). But Louis really knows fuck all about tennis. They don’t even keep score with numbers. It’s a stupid game. But Liam asked him to come, like he does every time they have a match at home. This time, however, he had the extra argument of ‘ _keeping up appearances_ ’. Niall’s not even supposed to be here. ‘ _But, Lo, he_ could _be there_ .’ Niall could be anywhere, yes, that’s what it means to be an autonomous person. Whatever, Louis is here. He’s here and he left his textbook in his car, along with his tablet, _and_ his coding notebook that he usually takes everywhere with him, _thank you very much_.

 

He bounds up to where Liam is on the sidelines, talking with some guy that just came off the court. He plants his hands down hard on Liam’s shoulders, startling him into pretty embarrassing high-pitched screech and a desperate wave hands.

 

“ _Lou_ ,” he whines. Everyone’s laughing at him. Louis is almost doubled over he’s cackling so hard.

 

“Just me. God, Liam. Didn’t know you had that in you.” Louis laughs, slinging an arm across Liam’s shoulders.

 

“Shut up,” he mumbles, crossing his arms petulantly.

 

“Sorry I’m late. Homework, you know how it is,” Louis shrugs. Okay, the real reason he’s late is because he changed his outfit ten times but that was only because it’s really hot out and for absolutely no other reason.

 

“No, you’re good. Greg just got off the court. I’ll be on in a minute. Right on time,” he says, slipping a comfortable arm around Louis’s waist. “Greg this is my-- Louis. This is Louis,” Liam fumbles, the tips of his ears blazing.

 

Interesting. “Hi, Greg. Hope you had a good match.” He does, at least, know that they’re called matches.

 

“Thanks, yeah. Just won, 6-2, 6-4,” Greg says with a grin, slinging his tennis bag over his shoulder. Liam looks better doing that, Louis thinks. Which is really pathetic. Observant? Pathetic.

 

Louis smiles and nods, pretending to know what that means. He gets introduced to the rest of the team and promptly forgets all their names the second he learns them. He’ll figure it out as he goes.

 

Liam sets up to play next, forgetting about his previous embarrassment and focusing only on the game. Another guy from the team tries to explain the game to Louis as they watch, but after three rounds through they’ve both given up on it. All sport games last a long time and Louis definitely doesn’t have the attention span for any of them. The only reason he made it through those 90 minute soccer matches was because he was _playing_. Louis fidgets in his seat, locking and unlocking his phone until the battery is worn almost all the way down. As the match goes on, Liam starts getting more and more frustrated, Louis can tell. And the line judge (Louis learned that’s what they’re called, not referees) keeps calling out ‘let’. He doesn’t know what that means exactly but he’s gathered that it’s bad.

 

When Liam finally comes off the court he looks upset, so Louis assumes he lost after all. His teammates give him a pat on the back, most of them already having left for the afternoon since his was the last match of the day. Louis loiters by the gate, picking at a loose thread on his jeans.

 

“Hey,” Liam says softly, approaching him once he’s gone round and seen everyone else off the courts.

 

“Hey,” Louis smiles at him, albeit a little sadly. His hand reaches out on its own volition and he places it on Liam’s bicep, stepping into his space.

 

“Thanks for coming. I know you’re probably like bored out of your mind, and I know I promised we’d get dinner, but I just-- I have to--” He sighs, wheeling the basket of practise balls back and forth, a frown overwhelming his face. “Well you can go on ahead, we’ll get dinner another time. I just-- If I don’t get my serve right I think I’ll--” He reaches up to tug at his non-existent hair. He ends up just rubbing at his ear self-consciously.

 

“I’ll stay,” Louis says. He takes the basket from Liam and wheels it back in front of one of the nets.

 

“Lou, you don’t have to,” Liam says, trudging after him. “I feel bad enough that I’ve kept you this long. I know I promised but--”

 

“Liam.” Louis picks up one of the balls, bouncing it on the clay for a minute. “You do realize, I’m a perfectionist,” he quirks up an eyebrow. “I know what it’s like-- what it feels like to lose. And if you’ve got to stay here all night and get your serve right, I’ll stay too,” he gives him a shy smile, tossing him the ball in his hand.

 

Liam catches it with ease, reluctantly dropping his tennis bag back down to the ground. “Thanks,” he says simply.

 

They stay until Liam has to get his key out and turn on the floodlights. Louis stays seated cross legged against the side of the net. He watches as Liam slams ball after ball towards the other side of the court. He listens as Liam rants about form and technique and how he just doesn’t know what’s _wrong, ‘Louis. I’m so much better than this.’_ He almost throws his racket to the ground at one point, until he _finally_ gets the ball perfectly in the corner like he wants to. Louis doesn’t know what the purpose of that is, but good for him.

 

It’s well past dinner time once Liam acquiesces. Louis doesn’t have a car so Liam says he’ll drive him home. They drive out of their way to go to the KFC with a drive through and sit in the parking lot in front of Louis’s apartment building to eat. Neither of them really know why they don’t just go inside. But Liam leaves the heater running and the radio on low and it feels a lot more comfortable here than it would be sitting around his rickety dinette table.

 

Louis had never seen Liam mad. Really, Louis had never seen Liam upset in any way before today. It surprised him, a little, that Liam became so easily frustrated with himself. Louis has always been under the idea of ‘if you can’t do it perfectly, why do it at all’ but he really thought Liam would have been more mature than that. Not that-- not that Louis _isn’t_ mature he’s just-- not as mature as he could be.

 

They talk for a while. Until Louis looks at the clock on the dash and remembers that he actually has work tomorrow.

 

“Thanks for… Staying with me,” Liam says, fiddling with his fingers against the center console. “You didn’t have to.”

 

Louis looks at him quizzically. “You keep saying that. I know, Li, but I’m your friend and that’s what friends are for.”

 

He keeps his eyes downcast. “That’s not--” he sighs, reaching out to squeeze Louis’s hand once. “You’re a really great friend, Louis.”

 

And Louis doesn’t really know what to do with that so he scrambles out of the car and jogs up the stairwell to his apartment. He notices Liam doesn’t drive away until he flips the light on in his room. He doesn’t really know what to do with that either.

 

#####  **Thursday, September 4th ~ 1 week, 2 days until**

 

It’s unseasonably cold for September, and the windows in Louis’s bedroom are horribly drafty. Liam’s over again, they planned on making decorations for the party, because Louis said he was pretty crafty. Lots of paper maché solar systems for his sisters. He and Liam had Louis’s comforter pulled up across their shoulders. Because it was drafty and cold. They weren’t cuddling. They were just sitting really close together, a totally normal thing between mates. Mates who are pretending to date each other. Yeah.

 

Liam’s got paste all over his fingers, and quite a bit on Louis’s sheets, when he speaks up again. “I’m pretty shit at this,” he comments, holding out the sticky mess for Louis to help him with.

 

“You really are,” he says, picking off bits of glitter for him. “I’ll designate you to getting the balloons. No one should allow you near glue paste.” This shit is never coming off of his duvet.

 

They’re quiet again for a moment, Louis’s little bluetooth speaker on shuffle in the background.

 

“Why do you think Niall believes we’re together?” Louis asks, because he has to.

 

“Probably because I told him we were,” Liam says without looking up from where he’s carefully cutting out the ‘happy birthday’ banner.

 

Louis huffs. “No I mean like, before. But that too, why was it so easy for him to just… Believe you?”

 

He shrugs. “Dunno,” he says, like it doesn’t bother him. This should bother him. Louis should not be the only one bothered by this.

 

“That’s it? That’s all I’m gonna get from the man who has a conspiracy theory for everything. Not even a passive conjecture?” Louis teases, looking over to see the tips of Liam’s ears are red. Interesting.

 

He mumbles something unintelligibly.

 

“What?”

 

Liam sighs, putting down the scissors and looking over at Louis. “Probably because he knew I had a crush on you,” he says, cheeks blazing.

 

Louis blinks at him for a moment. “What?” Because, _what?_ People who look like Liam don’t have crushes on people who look like Louis. They just don’t.

 

“Don’t make a big deal out of it. Don’t, like, let it change things, but yeah. I thought you were cute,” he mumbles, turning back toward his craft.

 

“But you don’t think so now? Anymore?” Louis asks incredulously, a little scared for either answer Liam could give him.

 

He just shrugs. And Louis doesn’t push it, picking up a piece of construction paper that he just kind of stares at in his lap for five minutes until Liam nudges him with his elbow. Right. This doesn’t change anything.

 

Niall’s in the living room when they’re done for the day. It’s a bit unexpected because Niall’s not usually home on Thursdays. He’s usually at practise or at Shawn’s or doing whatever it is Niall does that always keeps him so busy.

 

“Oh hey guys.” He grins, looking up from where he’s got his computer, notebook, and textbook all balanced in his lap.

 

It’s _not_ awkward as Liam goes to leave. Because their conversation earlier didn’t change anything. Nothing at all. But now Louis doesn’t know if he should walk him to the door like he always does. He doesn’t know where to put his hands. They usually hug. Should they hug? Louis likes hugging Liam.

 

Liam glances at Niall over Louis’s shoulder. Niall goes back to typing way too quickly to not have been spying on them just now while they hover by the door. Liam pulls him in for a side hug that couldn’t have been more awkward if he’d _tried_. Louis mumbles a ‘bye’ as he pulls the door shut behind him.

 

Niall’s back pretending to work, and Louis doesn’t attempt to engage him in conversation. Although he can feel all the way over here that Niall’s just itching to talk to him. Niall is always itching to talk to him and Louis is tired of it. Okay, he’s not, they’re best friends and he’s so supportive and great for a laugh. But Louis is tired of it _right now_ . He’s going to go in his room and allow himself to wallow in self pity for a little bit (for no reason because _nothing’s wrong_ ).

 

#####  **Monday, September 8th ~ 5 days until**

 

Louis is so mad, so _frustrated_ , as he leaves his advanced mechatronics exam. He knew this material, he knew what he was doing, but his _stupid_ professor decided to make everything a trick question. He couldn’t figure any of them out quickly enough to even complete the exam. Luckily, everyone else seems to be just as displeased as he is. Dr. Van der Giessen thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he has a Warner T. Koiter Medal but guess what _Erik_ , you’re not as special as you think you are. God, he’s so mad.

 

So, Louis goes where he always does when he’s mad: the performing arts building. Not the new one that was built like three years ago and has a huge auditorium and fancy classrooms that have special keypads to get in. No, he makes the trek all the way down to the _old_ performing arts building that’s basically been condemned for the past fifteen years and is pretty much just empty classrooms and storage for all the old music equipment no one’s bothered to donate or throw out. Louis’s friend Stan works in the new PAB, and he was given a key to the storage rooms in old one ‘for emergencies’. Louis made a copy.

 

PAB isn’t completely abandoned all the time. Upperclassmen and students who _really_ know what they’re doing come here sometimes to study, since it’s so quiet. Louis has never had a problem though, with someone wanting in _his_ classroom. Because it’s definitely his classroom. Lord know he pays enough tuition to claim one.

 

He cuts in through the back, up the familiar, albeit kind of creepy, stairwell and down to the second to last door on the right. It’s relatively small, rows of raised platforms all angled toward the front. There are dusty boxes and broken music stands littered all over the place but what Louis really cares about is the beautiful grand piano. He looked up how to tune one on the internet, and again used Stan to ‘lend’ him the equipment so he could do it himself. It’s gorgeous, and it _sounds_ gorgeous and Louis has been coming here for years to practice and meditate. Okay maybe it was more like play angry Bartók pieces until he calmed down but ‘meditate’ sounds better.

 

After he’s run through Allegro Barbaro once (twice, possibly three times, it’s his favorite) he’s in a space where pretty much nothing could interrupt him. He starts on a piece by Schumann, eyes closed, totally in his element. He does feel loads better about the whole exam thing. He’s going over the problems in his head as he plays, staying pragmatic and objective, when a loud crash startles him out of his reverie.

 

He stops playing on a sour note that hangs in the air while he stares at _Liam_ of all people, looking very sheepish next to a couple of saxophones that have obviously fallen off of their designated shelf.

 

“Um… Hey,” he waves over at Louis.

 

“What are you doing here?” Shit no, that’s not what he meant. “I mean-- Uh-- Yeah, what are you doing here?” Louis asks, trying not to sound like too much of an asshole.

 

“I was just looking for a quiet room to study in, but I heard you playing,” he shuffles his feet, looking back to the ground. “I should get going, yeah,” he gestures over his shoulder with his thumb, stepping backwards, making an oboe fall over on top of the mess he already made. God, this boy is such an endearing mess.

 

“No, no, you can stay. I mean-- I’m done. You can have the room.” He wasn’t really done, but it’s too weird to have Liam just here watching him play.

 

“Don’t-- Don’t leave, I loved listening to you,” Liam smiles, almost shyly.

 

Louis hunches his shoulders and stares down at his hands in his lap. “I don’t really… Play in front of people. Ever.”

 

“Really? Not even for, like, your friends?” He says, walking over to take a seat next to Louis.

 

Louis rolls his eyes. “You’re my friend and I’m not going to play for you so,” he pulls down the fallboard with finality, “no, not even for my friends. It’s not like I’m any good anyway.”

 

Liam’s looking at him like he’s got three heads. “You don’t think you’re any good?”

 

“I know I’m not,” he picks at his nails, not quite meeting Liam’s eye.

 

“Well that’s bullshit.” Liam says forcefully.

 

Louis looks up, stunned. “Uh.” Liam doesn’t do many things forcefully.

 

“Sorry, sorry, just… You’re so hard on yourself, Lou. You should be proud of what you can do. I know I am,” he trails off, picking at the seam of the fallboard where it doesn’t quite meet the plate.

 

“Well of course you are, you should be. You’re captain of the tennis team and always get the top grades in your major and yo--”

 

“No. Louis, I’m saying I’m proud of _you_.” Oh.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah,” Liam looks at him out of the corner of his eye, still picking at the piano.

 

“Well, um, thanks Liam,” the air in the room has gone a bit stale, or maybe a bit charged. Either way, Louis feels like someone is pressing down on his chest and he really can’t be here right now.

 

They sit in silence for as long as Louis can bare it. He jumps up quickly, obviously startling Liam a bit, and grabs his bookbag.

 

“Great to see you, Liam but I’ve got to get to my next class,” he says frantically. He doesn’t actually have any classes left today. But he just can’t be here.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I gotta go too,” Liam stands up too, stepping backwards toward the door.

 

“But you just… Didn’t you just get here?” Louis asks skeptically.

 

“Oh well, um, yeah, but… yeah, I’ll uh… see you around,” Liam stumbles over his words, a blush rising to his cheeks as he ducks his head and practically sprints out of the classroom.

 

“See you,” Louis mumbles a beat too late. What a weird interaction. What a weird _day_.

 

#####  **Friday, September 12th ~ 24 hours until**

 

Now, the party is _really_ almost here, and it’s crunch time. Louis pulled himself together because life isn’t fair sometimes and pining over his new-best-friend-slash-fake-boyfriend will get him nowhere. It’s the night before and Louis and Liam are again back locked away in Louis’s bedroom staging decorations. Harry’s going to take Niall out tomorrow for a ‘birthday brunch’ because Harry’s the type of person who does ‘birthday brunch’, and that’s when they’ll get the apartment looking spick and span. And when all the guests are going to arrive (hopefully on time).

 

Niall sure as hell is going to arrive on time, instead of staying out galavanting with Harry. Because that’s what usually happens when anyone goes anywhere with Harry. You’re 10x more likely to wind up naked in a ditch if Harry’s leading the charge. Which would usually be a very niche occurrence. Anyway, Louis and Liam put together a very unnecessarily complex system for guaranteeing Niall’s arrival. Shawn had asked Niall to the movies, saying he’d be over at three to hang out beforehand. It wasn’t very hard to convince Shawn to ask Niall to the movies. It’s seriously stupid that they aren’t dating already. Almost as stupid as the idea that Louis and Liam _are_ actually dating.

 

They’re laughing again, Louis and Liam are, which is nice because last time they were not laughing and it was awkward and Louis hated it. Liam always makes him feel like he did in grade school, shooting milk out of his eye to get everyone to laugh. It’s a nice, nostalgic feeling, and hanging out with Liam these last couple weeks had become almost an escape from adulthood. He’d always been good at making people laugh, allowing _other_ people to escape. But with Liam… With Liam he could escape for himself.

 

“Well I think that should about do it,” Liam says, tying up the last balloon with a string. They’re all bouncing around on the ceiling and Louis is kind of worried one of them will hit his ceiling fan. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning and help set up. Harry knows to text me once he’s got Niall distracted,” he grins, stretching his long muscley arms above his head and goddamn tennis is a great sport.

 

“Sounds good,” he says, “...mate,” he tacks on at the end, like a reminder for them both.

 

Niall is _again_ in the living room when they walk past but this time he watches them unabashedly. Niall’s never been very good with being kept out of the loop. Louis and Liam both go for a hug at the same time. Their faces almost crashing together. And when Liam huffs out a little chuckle Louis can feel his breath on his cheek. Cool, fine, it’s fine. They awkwardly fix their hug because apparently everything they do is awkward nowadays.

 

“Guys?” Niall calls. They both pause. “You know you don’t have to like… You guys can kiss and stuff in front of me, it’s okay.” Goddamnit Niall they were so close. Why can’t he just mind his own goddamn business like a normal fucking person?

 

They _are_ so close, and Louis guesses that is kind of what it looked like. That they were about to kiss and then decided not to at the last minute. (Maybe that speaks to his subconscious. Stan would know how to psychoanalyze that.) Louis sighs and turns toward Liam, raising a brow to ask _you wanna do this?_ Because they’re _so close_ and if they can keep up appearances for one more day they’ll be set. And what’s a little unassuming kiss between mates? Liam’s shoulders shrug minutely and he leans in.

 

It starts out fine enough, still dry, mouths closed, an _unassuming kiss_ . But then Liam starts to move away and Louis for whatever reason puts a hand on his shoulder to keep him there, bringing his other one to clutch at his neck. He doesn’t know who parted their lips first but suddenly there’s a tongue in his mouth that’s not his own. And Liam’s hands are gripping his hips, fingers ghosting under his shirt. And he arches up against Liam’s body like he cannot get physically close enough. Louis deepens the kiss because apparently it wasn’t deep enough already and Louis’s brain has completely shut off from controlling the rest of his body. His hands come up to hold Liam’s head steady as he angles them _just so_ … and _Oh my god what the hell are they doing?_

 

And it’s like a switch flipped back on and he suddenly became aware of himself and _oh god_ . Liam seems to come to a similar realization and they pull away from each other with an audible * _pop*_ . Louis is breathing heavy and what little hair Liam has is sticking up all over the fucking place. Liam adjusts himself in his jeans, which Louis feels both embarrassed _and_ proud about. He clears his throat, face flushed all the way down into the collar of his hoodie.

 

“Well, uh, bye,” Liam mumbles, turning around abruptly and fleeing out the door. Leaving Louis a little shell shocked staring at the peeling paint by the peephole.

 

He startles when Niall laughs loudly from his place on the futon. “Whole new meaning to ‘tonsil tennis’, eh?” He jokes.

 

Louis chuckles half-heartedly, joining him on the couch in a bit of a daze. “Ha, yeah. Because he’s on the team, right? Hilarious,” he rolls his eyes like he always does. Louis needs to get his sarcasm and confidence back. This whole depressive pining is Not what he’s trying to be.

 

#####  **Saturday, September 13th ~ 4 hours until**

 

Liam is late. Louis would be mad about it if Liam didn’t call him twenty minutes ago apologizing profusely going on about how he locked his keys in his car and he had to wait for AAA before Louis finally interrupted him and said that it was fine. Honestly, Louis could never be mad at Liam, even if he is essentially abandoning him and he has to do all the setting up himself.

 

The party is pretty much in full swing, sans the guest of honor, once Liam finally arrives. Louis has got the beer set up in three different ice buckets in the kitchen, _including_ the wine coolers that Harry insisted he get. Because Harry is actually a 17 year old girl. They have the cupcakes on a platter in the fridge. Which were discreetly brought over from where they were stored in Harry’s kitchen this morning while Niall was in the shower. That was a blessed timing if he’d ever had one. The golf team is all here, including his and Niall’s friends they made freshman year together, and a bunch of people Louis didn’t know but Liam said should come. All in all, it’s _packed_ and Louis is lucky he was by the door as Liam walked in or else he’d never have found him.

 

“If anything in this apartment gets broken, I’m holding you personally responsible,” Louis says over the noise, taking Liam’s jacket from him and heading toward the kitchen again. He hopes Liam knows to follow him.

 

“Would you even notice if something got broken?” He hears Liam say behind him.

 

He rounds on him with a glare, but Liam just smiles back innocently. “Grab a beer. If you’re not going to be useful you might as well have fun.”

 

“Hey! I’ve been very useful,” Liam whines, already popping off the tab of a PBR. Gross, Liam drinks PBR.

 

“Yeah, sure, where were you when I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, dragging that stupid step-ladder behind me? I had to turn into spider man to get that thing up.” He points to the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner that’s hanging, still a little crooked, across the mantle of the fireplace that has never actually been used.

 

“It looks great, Lou, really,” Liam looks a little guilty now, which is completely unacceptable. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be here earlier.”

 

Louis takes pity on him. “I’m just kidding, honest. You’ve been a great help, couldn’t do it without you.” He pretends that he has to lean forward to talk to Liam over the sound of the music and the people, but really, if he’s being honest, he just wanted to be closer.

 

“Hey guys,” Shawn steps into the kitchen, breaking their little bubble. He doesn’t seem to have noticed he’s interrupted something. Because he hasn’t. There wasn’t anything to interrupt. “Niall should be here soon.”

 

Louis takes a deep breath, clapping Shawn on the back as he slides past.

 

He makes a big announcement for everyone to be quiet, since there are definitely way too many people in here to actually _hide_. The coffee table he’s standing on creaks dangerously when he goes to get down. Luckily, Liam is there with a hand on his waist to help steady him. It’s warm and his fingertips slip under Louis’s shirt for a second. He places a hand on Liam’s shoulder which really isn’t necessary because it’s like half a foot step down but they share a soft smile so Louis thinks it’s okay.

 

Niall is definitely a much better liar than Louis is. He really hopes Niall never finds out he thinks that. But Niall acts _totally_ surprised to see everyone when he and Harry arrive. Although, Louis is kind of thinking Niall might just be that oblivious, since he’s still under the impression and Liam is dating _Louis_ of all people.

 

The ruse is over, for all intents and purposes. Niall heard from just about everyone that Louis and Liam were the masterminds behind the whole thing. He’s been by to thank them, and then came by to thank them again once he’s sufficiently smashed and forgotten he already had done. It’s cute. But neither Louis nor Liam correct him about the fake boyfriend thing when he brings it up. It’s a little weird but Louis sure as hell doesn’t want to be the first one to talk about it. There’s no real reason for that; he just doesn’t.

 

It turns into a rager, which was not _exactly_ what Louis was expecting, but it’s not a bad thing. Even though Niall jokes a lot about how he does nothing but work and school, he does actually know how to party. There’s a birthday drinking game someone finds on their phone and Louis and Liam stumble to the package store to pick up a couple cheap bottles of Burnett’s. Louis doesn’t remember much after that.

 

##### Sunday, September 14th ~ [unknown] hours since

 

He rolls over with a groan, or at least he tries to, but there’s a giant heavy weight on his chest that’s preventing him. He shoves it away without opening his eyes, or really waking up any more than just enough to register that he feels fucking _awful_ . He groans again when the giant heavy weight re-situates itself, pulling Louis in by the waist. Oh fuck it’s Liam. _Oh fuck it’s Liam_.

 

Louis, in a panic, shoots straight up in bed so quickly that he basically flings Liam off the edge of it. That was not a good idea, not only because he could have given Liam a concussion, but also because the sudden movement has made him very very aware of the fucking axe that has got to be implanted into his skull for it to hurt this bad.

 

“Ow,” he hears Liam’s pitiful little voice float up from the floor.

 

Louis slams the heel of his hand into his eye socket, like that will help with the horrible pounding behind it. As he leans over the edge of the bed to peer down at Liam, he realizes that he hasn’t escaped the nausea that also comes with a hangover.

 

“Sorry, babe,” he mumbles absentmindedly, laying back down to see if that will help with all the _spinning_.

 

Liam grunts in response, crawling back into bed next to Louis. “Everything hurts,” he says, nuzzling into Louis’s bare shoulder. Why are neither of them wearing shirts?

 

Louis sighs deeply, forcing himself up and over Liam to get out of bed (without spewing all over the place, hopefully). It takes him a minute to get his bearings, hanging onto the edge of his dresser. He doesn’t bother with a shirt as he wanders into the kitchen, stepping around red solo cups, paper streamers, and confetti for some reason, he and Liam definitely didn’t buy any confetti; where the hell did this come from? He presses his forehead against the cool door of the refrigerator while he fills two glasses with water in the sink. On his way back to his room he grabs a bottle of aspirin from the bathroom, tucking it under his arm.

 

Liam doesn’t seem to have moved, face down starfished across the bed. Louis blearily tip-toes back over to his nightstand, freeing up one of his hands so her can run his fingers through Liam’s hair that’s just barely begun to grow out again. Liam twists his head just enough to give Louis a small smile, eyes still closed.

 

“Take this, you’ll feel better,” Louis nudges him with the edge of the cup, dropping the pill case onto the bed beside him.

 

Liam whines, frowning and shrugging away from the cool glass.

 

“C’mon, drink this so I can lay down again,” Louis says, contemplating just dumping the water on his head. But then that’d get his sheets all wet, and he really doesn’t want to have to deal with that.

 

Liam finally sits up, squinting his eyes open, a bright red pillow crease against his cheek. Louis chugs down his water, not waiting for Liam to finish before he falls face first back onto the bed.

 

#####  **Sunday, September 14th… probably**

 

Louis really hopes it’s still Sunday, and that he didn’t sleep the whole day away. The sun is low in the sky but he’s not exactly sure which way it’s heading. After getting his bearings a little, he realizes what woke him up.

 

“There a reason everyone’s in my room?” He mumbles, scrubbing a hand down his face. He’s feeling much better, but it kind of tastes like something died in his mouth.

 

“Liam didn’t want to leave you. Too afraid you’d, like, drown in a puddle of your own vomit.” Harry says from his spot on the floor.

 

“Thanks for the concern, babe, but I think I would’ve been okay.” Louis says, rolling his head to look at Liam’s pretty brown eyes. He smiles at Louis, leaned up against the side of his bed and the nightstand. He looks amazing in the fading light, even with the remnants of his hangover in the circles under his eyes.

 

Louis stretches out his legs and subsequently kicks Niall where he’s sat on the foot of his bed. He slides to sit up against his headboard, and makes grabby hands at the shirt next to Liam on the floor. Liam throws it at him so it drapes over his face. Conversation picks back up again from whatever they were talking about before Louis woke up and interrupted them. He’s still not sure why they’re all in his room.

 

He spaces out, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. He can’t really be bothered to listen to Harry’s rambling story that he’s probably already heard before. There are only a finite number of stories one man can possess. He startles, a little, when Niall slumps over next to him, rubbing his greasy hair all over Louis’s pillow.

 

“Have a good birthday, Nialler?” Louis asks, stealing another sip of Liam’s coffee while he pretends not to notice.

 

“The best.” The rest of the guys seem preoccupied with a particularly poignant part of Harry’s story, laughing loudly and paying Niall and Louis no mind. “Thanks, mate, really. I loved it. It was perfect.” He looks a little wistfully at Shawn, a shy smile on his face.

 

“I’m glad.” He says, because he is, but... “It was a lot of work though, I expect you coordinate a fucking parade for mine.”

 

“Hey! My birthday brought you and Liam together, I don’t owe you shit.” Niall laughs, already crawling backwards and off the bed before Louis thinks maybe he should have corrected him.

 

#####  **Thursday, September 25 ~ 1 week, 5 days since**

 

It’s not like Louis _forgot_ that Niall still thought he and Liam were dating it’s just that he kind of… forgot. He’s right in the middle of midterms and he really has pretty much forgotten about anything other than classes and engineering and school. He doesn’t count his days in AM/PM anymore, just however many hours he has until his next exam. He has no idea when it last was that he slept. He has no idea the last time he ate. He’s stumbling home at close to midnight because his exam was scheduled for 7:45 in the evening which was bullshit, and then he had a study group immediately after which was also bullshit. Most of the time he spent there was just explaining everything he already knew to his idiot classmates. Basically: he’s spent all night dispelling his head of all its knowledge, and he’s still got two more midterms to go.

 

He faceplants into the couch as the door slams loudly behind him. He feels a presence hovering on the threshold from the kitchen and he musters up enough energy to turn his head towards it, brow furrowing.

 

“Liam?” It’s definitely Liam standing there in a pair of faded grey sweatpants and one of Louis’s old t-shirts. “What are you doing here?” He hasn’t seen him in over a week, they’ve both been so busy. Louis hasn’t missed him. He _hasn’t_.

 

Liam brings up another spoonful of cereal to his mouth as he shrugs. “My roommate was being loud and Niall said I could come over and study here. He went to bed about an hour ago.”

 

Louis struggles to sit up, frowning when Liam offers him a bite of his cereal and it’s cornflakes. He didn’t even know they had cornflakes in their pantry.

 

“You didn’t leave when he went to bed because…” Louis asks, trying to rub some of the grit that’s in his eye.

 

“Your apartment is closer to campus and I have an 8am exam,” Liam says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

 

“And you thought you’d just help yourself to my closet for some pajamas, and our kitchen for some food.”

 

“And your phone charger and your bed later, full disclosure,” Liam laughs.

 

“What’s the point of having a futon if none of our friends ever use it,” Louis says, mostly to himself. He reaches a hand out so Liam can help him up. “Come to bed when you’re ready. Don’t wake me up when you do,” because he really should study some more for his exam tomorrow but he thinks if he looks at any more numbers his brain will start oozing out of his ears.

 

It feels like he’s only been in bed for three seconds when Liam comes in his room. He climbs over Louis so he can sleep on the side of the bed that’s up against the window, like he always does. Except, he struggles a lot to get under the duvet once he’s there and definitely wakes Louis up.

 

“I hate you,” Louis mumbles, but it definitely sounds more like ‘mhrbrgdu’. Liam apologizes anyway.

 

##### Friday, September 26th ~ 1 week, 6 days since

 

Against his better judgement, Louis gets up when Liam does at six the next morning. So he can make him some breakfast. No one should eat cornflakes two meals in a row, not even Liam. He feels proper domestic as he pops some bread in the toaster. Liam comes rushing through in a minute, hair still damp and wearing another one of Louis’s shirts.

 

“Stop stretching out my clothes,” Louis says, handing Liam his water bottle that he just filled up for him.

 

“We’re the same size,” Liam responds distractedly, shuffling all his notes together on the kitchen table.

 

Louis leans his elbows down on the counter, watching as he rushes about. “I’d like to know what alternate universe you’re living in where that’s true.”

 

If it wasn’t exam week and Liam wasn’t so preoccupied, he’d probably come back with a quip about how Louis never willingly admits he’s on the short side and how this is a moment for the history books. As it is, he just rolls his eyes at Louis, sliding all of his things into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.

 

“Wish me luck,” he grins, dipping down and pressing a quick kiss to Louis’s lips. It feels so natural that it takes them a moment to realize… it’s not.

 

They stare at each other blankly, Liam obviously trying to stammer out an excuse, and Louis gaping like he’s just seen a fish learn how to ride a motorcycle.

 

“Good luck,” he manages to croak out. Liam grimaces. “Um… We’ll… Yeah, we’ll talk about it later,” Louis nods, mostly for himself, straightening out his posture.

 

“Yeah… Yeah, I gotta go,” Liam nervously glances at the clock on the stove.

 

He doesn’t move though, so Louis rolls his eyes, shoving him toward the door. “Go. Go! Kick ass on your exam, I know you can.” For good measure, he leans up to kiss Liam on the cheek. “To even the score.” He winks at Liam’s stunned face and blazing red cheeks, closing the door on him as he stands in the hall.

 

Louis immediately slumps against it, eyes widening as he brings a hand up to his lips. Jesus. Liam just kissed him. _He just kissed Liam_ . On the cheek, but like… still. When did that happen? Obviously, it just happened like two minutes ago, but when did that happen? When did… When did they stop thinking about each other as just friends and start thinking of each other as friends who kiss? Because of course they were _acting_ like boyfriends, but that’s all it was: acting. It’s not like they were _thinking_ like boyfriends. It’s one thing to keep up appearances to keep a secret going, but it’s another thing to think, when no one’s around, ‘oh let me just kiss my boyfriend on his way out the door’. Louis totally thought he had that minor (very minor) crush under control. Apparently he does not. But wait. Liam kissed _him_. Liam, who definitely said he didn’t ‘like him like that anymore’ kissed him. Did he really say that though? Or did Louis just infer that? Or is it just way too fucking early to be analyzing what’s now come to be the most complicated relationship of his life?

 

It’s a testament to how exhausted he is that he can go to sleep so quickly after he climbs back in bed, instead of panicking and overthinking like he normally would. He does panic and overthink a little bit, mind. But that mostly happens after he wakes up and he knows Liam’s been done with his exam for over an hour and he’s not come by so they could talk. Not that-- not that they like had an agreement to meet after his exam but… he thought it was kind of assumed.

 

He puts it out of his mind, making himself another pot of coffee and flipping open his textbook. His next exam is in three hours and he definitely does not have time to waste time talking to Liam, let alone thinking about him. He would probably be able to focus better if they talked it out, but that’s not happening, and it’s not going to happen, and phenol formaldehyde resin is formed by a step-growth polymerization reaction.

 

#####  **Friday, September 26th ~ 1 week, 6 days, 18:24 hours since**

 

It’s dark by the time he stumbles out of his midterm that night, the street lights flickering on. Louis hates that, that it’s getting darker so early in the day. He doesn’t think he really did that bad on the exam. He thinks he’s done so well, actually, that he almost doesn’t notice Liam loitering on a bench in front of the classroom building. Almost.

 

“Liam,” he means to say, but it comes out like more of a sigh.

 

“Hey,” he says, just as quietly, giving Louis a small shy smile. He steps forward, standing just this side of too close while the other students part around them on their way out of the building.

 

Liam’s arms hang limply by his sides while Louis tightens his grip around the straps of his backpack. The moment seems charged, Liam looking at him with a level of intensity not often seen. Louis is both extremely relieved to see him and also extremely anxious. How is this going to go?

 

It becomes apparent how this is going to go when Liam takes a hand and cups Louis’s cheek. Louis’s breath hitches quietly. And Liam’s eyes flick up to his from where they’ve been intently staring at his lips. There’s a question there, a question so simple and yet Louis doesn’t know how to answer it. Something about his blank stare must signal him though, because Liam continues to lean in until they’re finally kissing. It’s dry and chaste, just the two of them pressing together, but it’s wonderful. Liam pulls back eyes still closed, resting his forehead against Louis’s. He sighs, running his arms down Louis’s shoulders, along his arms, so he can intertwine their fingers. Louis stays still, not quite allowing himself to believe that this might really be the best day of his life.

 

“I’m sorry,” Liam breathes out and Louis steps back like he’s been burned.

 

“What?” Please don’t tell him that this is how it’s going to go. He thought-- they were on the same page.

 

He reaches out after Louis, a pleading look on his face. Louis steps back again, out of his grasp.

 

“No, I’m not-- I don’t mean,” Liam sighs again, this time in frustration. He clenches his fists together. “Do you want to know why I told Niall we were dating?”

 

“I want to know a hell of a lot of things right now Liam, you better get to explaining,” Louis flashes, bringing his arms across his chest defensively.

 

Liam smiles, which just makes Louis more upset and confused. “Louis I-- I’ve wanted to date you since… God, since that first day we met probably,” he chuckles, and Louis relaxes a bit. “It’s so embarrassing, but I would-- I had these ideas, fantasies, in my head where you liked me back and we were boyfriends. And Niall… He would tease me about it, so when I saw the opportunity to-- to be close to you, even if it wasn’t for real, I took it.” Louis lets him step forward. Liam taking one of his hands again. “I used you, without telling you how I felt. I cornered you into agreeing to the whole thing, and I used you. I’m so sorry,” he hangs his head, staring down and fiddling with Louis’s fingers.

 

“You’re so stupid,” Louis says softly, bringing up Liam’s chin so he can see his face. “We could have been dating for real this whole time?”

 

Liam’s eyes light up and he comes even closer. “Really? You-- Really?”

 

Louis shrugs, a blush creeping up over his cheekbones. “I mean-- I wouldn’t mind it,” he bites at his lip to tamp down a smile.

 

Liam surges down to kiss him again and they just end up laughing into each others mouths. “I can’t believe I’m so stupid.”

 

Louis wraps his arms around his neck, pressing his grin into Liam’s shoulder. “At least you know.”

 

“Oi!” Liam exclaims, digging in his fingers to tickle Louis’s sides. He shrieks (a really manly shriek) but doesn’t try to wriggle away, only press closer.

 

“Boyfriends?” Louis asks, standing back, his fingers still threading through the little hairs at the base of Liam’s skull.

 

“Boyfriends. For real this time,” Liam says with a grin. “I’ve already planned a perfect first date,” he promises.

 

Louis groans, dropping his arms as he remembers all the studying he has to do.

 

“I’ve already planned the perfect first date... for after midterms?” Liam asks sheepishly.

 

Louis smiles at him shyly, resituating his bookbag over his shoulder and holding out a hand for Liam to take. “Yeah, sorry. Guess waiting another few days won’t be the end of the world.” If he were honest though, it really is the end of the world. He wants to be able to enjoy it all _now_ , or more namely, he really wants to enjoy it all now and be done with exams. They have lots of time, lots of precious relationship time to make up for while Liam was being an idiot. Louis was a little bit too but if Liam wants to take all the blame that is totally okay with him.

 

Their hands swing between them as they wander back to the apartment. It’s only once they get there and Niall finds them cuddling on the couch that they realize nothing’s actually… changed. The only thing that has is that weird in-between hesitancy they had before, where Louis’s lingering stares and Liam’s lingering touches were pulled back at the last second in embarrassment. Now he can stare and touch and _kiss_ all he wants. It’s almost like whiplash when Niall plops himself down on the other end of the couch, already rambling about his day, like he always does, like Louis and Liam’s world didn’t just completely flip over.

 

It kind of feels like maybe things are just finally flipped right side up.

 

#####  **Monday, January 26th ~ 4 months, 1 week, 6 days since**

 

Because Liam’s a cheesy fucking sap, he brings Louis flowers after classes, to celebrate their four month anniversary. ‘ _No one celebrates four month anniversaries, babe_ .’ Louis’d said, but Liam gave him that _look_ , that puppy dog face that lets him get away with being a cheesy fucking sap all he wants. Even though Louis kind of hates it but also secretly enjoys it. Louis opens a bottle of wine open and even though it’s only $10 from the bottom shelf of the package store down the street, it makes them feel fancy.

 

Niall and Shawn stumble in noisily as they’re arguing over who’s getting a foot massage first. Louis was definitely about to win that argument, by the way.

 

Niall freezes in the doorway, putting out a hand to stop Shawn from falling in after him. “Oh! Sorry, Louis you should have texted me,” he says, turning around to address Shawn, “date night.”

 

Louis snorts, because really that’s never been how his and Liam’s relationship has gone. They don’t have ‘date nights’ like Shawn and Niall (yeah that finally happened, after a thousand years of pointless anticipation). They spend time together when they can, but it’s almost always interrupted by work or due dates or roommates and friends who have no personal boundaries. They’re used to it by now.

 

“It’s fine, I’ve got to head home anyway. Early lecture,” Liam shrugs. Louis reaches around him to pause the Gotham rerun they had playing.

 

“Ohhhh, flowers. Why’d you get flowers?” Niall asks, Shawn attached to his back, giggling. Louis and Liam were never that gross and couple-y. _They weren’t._

 

“Liam thinks being together for four months is significant,” Louis rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest as he leans against the door jam, admiring Liam’s ass as he bends over to tie his boots onto his feet.

 

Niall nods and then pauses, looking between the two of them. “You’ve been together for longer than four months. Right?” His brow furrows in confusion.

 

Louis stops, looking to Liam for a moment, who’s just as wide-eyed. They both start laughing at the same time.

 

“What?” Niall asks dubiously, Shawn behind him looking just as confused.

 

“That first-- like, month we were ‘together’,” Louis uses little air quotes, struggling to get out the sentence while he’s still laughing, “it was just an act, so you wouldn’t get suspicious of us planning your birthday.”

 

“Wait… What?”

 

Liam wipes a tear from the corner of his eye, swinging an arm across Louis’s shoulders. “Sorry, bro, I don’t know why we thought you knew. But no, Lou’s right, we were just pretending for like… Almost two months there I guess.” Liam looks down at him, raising an eyebrow asking for confirmation.

 

Louis shrugs, Liam’s arm bouncing up and down against the back of his head. “Yeah two months sounds right.”

 

“So you… Didn’t… You weren’t together until after my birthday last year?” Niall asks, leaning up against the sink.

 

They both nod.

 

He looks contemplative for a moment before lighting up again, smiling. “Well I’m still claiming I’m the reason you two started dating!” He’s always been so oddly proud of that.

 

“Sure, go ahead.” Liam says. Best to just let him have that one.

 

Louis follows him out into the hallway, leaving a loud boasting Niall still in the kitchen. They giggle at each other when the door closes behind them. It’s fucking freezing out here as he lets Liam box him in again against the front door. Their welcome mat itching the bottom of his feet through his socks.

 

“Happy anniversary, babe,” he murmurs softly.

 

“Thought you didn’t celebrate four month anniversaries,” Liam smirks at him.

 

“I don’t,” Louis raises up his chin in a challenge before melting into a fond smile, “but you do, and I love you.”

 

 _Shit_ they hadn’t said that one out loud before.

 

Liam’s eyes go wide and Louis has to force himself not to break eye contact, a flush rising up his cheeks. What if Liam doesn’t say it back? He starts chewing on his lip, a bad habit he’s had since forever, only when he gets nervous.

 

Liam brings up his thumb to pry it out from between his teeth, smoothing over it. His hands comes around to cup his cheek, fingers scratching lightly at the back of his skull.

 

“I love you, too,” he whispers so quietly Louis almost doesn’t believe he heard it. He leans closer, plessing over Louis’s chapped lips for a deep kiss. When he pulls back Liam says it again, kissing the side of Louis’s mouth, his cheek, his eyebrow, anywhere he can reach until they’re both giggling.

 

“I guess we do owe Niall a little bit.” Louis shrugs.

 

“I vote not putting him in the wedding, just out of spite.” This time it’s Liam’s turn to look nervous and panicked.

  
Louis smiles reassuringly at him. “Just for that he has to be _your_ best man. Good luck getting a decent bachelor party without Harry to plan it.” He pokes Liam against his chest, grinning through his blush. Because this is love and weddings and _forever_ and it makes Louis feel flustered and nervous but there’s no one he’d rather have forever with.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> [HERE](https://radiantbeams.tumblr.com/tagged/my-fic/) is the link to the rebloggable tumblr post to share


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